The invention relates to paving blocks of the type which comprise at least four paving elements of equal height which are seated on a common foot and present side walls that are convex and concave curvilinear generatrices. Such paving blocks may be formed of concrete. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the paving elements are circular-cylindrical in shape and the side walls of the block present convex and concave cylinder generatrices.
The paving block of the invention serves as paving for light and medium loads, and finds its application as a pavement for walkways and garden paths as well as for courtyards and driveways, where it is attractive both because of the rational way in which it can be laid down and because of the appearance of the finished paving.
Concrete paving blocks are known from German Gebrauchsmuster 7,318,305 and 7,440,074, which consist of four or six cylindrical elements of equal height, seated on a common foot. This foot alternatingly presents side walls with convex and concave curvature. In these paving blocks, however, there is much left to be desired as far as better stacking, easier laying down and mutual engagement of the blocks is concerned.
The problem to which the present invention is addressed is improvement of known paving blocks of the described type, and this problem is solved in that at least part of the side walls forms a flat surface, such as a flat rectangular surface. Such a surface offers advantages in manufacture and shipping as well as in the laying down of the pavement blocks and improves their mutual engagement, from which there results an enhanced load stability of the finished paving.
Advantageously, in one embodiment, concave cylinder generatrices join a flat rectangular surface on both sides, with an obtuse angle. This measure facilitates manufacture of the mold for a paving block formed with six circular-cylindrical paving elements.
According to another advantageous feature of certain embodiments, a paving block formed of four paving elements has small rectangular surfaces which join with both sides of a relatively larger, flat rectangular surface at an obtuse angle, each of said small surfaces, in turn, joining one of the concave or convex cylinder surfaces. In this way, manufacture of the mold for the 4-part paving block is facilitated.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purposes of illustration only, several embodiments in accordance with the present invention.